Worthing United Youth were crowned Sussex Girls Challenge Cup (Under-12s) winners after a 1-0 win against Bognor Regis Town in Sunday’s final. 

In Worthing United Youth’s first County Cup Final, a first half goal from Isabelle Weatherstone was enough to see them lift the trophy at Culver Road. 

The game started in fairly tight fashion with neither team being able to test each other early on. The first half only saw one shot on target, and this was in the eighth minute when Worthing took the lead. Weatherstone’s low driven effort went into the bottom right corner past Bognor Regis’ Hollie Callander and gave Worthing a 1-0 lead.

Worthing continued to put pressure on their opponents, with Alisha Tiangco a threat on the left-hand side in what was an uneventful first half. Regis almost struck level towards the end of the first half, when Maria Swanson’s through ball found Lauren Sollis. However, she was denied by great Worthing defending.

United continued to test Bognor into the second half, with Maria O’Brien’s free kick being tipped over the bar by Callander. She would test Regis multiple times throughout the half with several efforts on goal and impressive footwork.  

Worthing made a late attempt to get back into the game, with Izzy English’s run denied by Georgia Glover. In the end, Worthing were well deserving of the victory in a solid display.

Bognor joint manager Tom English discussed their decision to regularly rotate the players throughout the game and was in positive spirits despite the loss. He said: “I think the opportunity to play in front of a crowd and just to be in the final. The whole experience was really good. Most of them have enjoyed it, a couple are down in the dumps. Today we know we have given a good account of themselves. They (Worthing) were strong at the back. We got the ball down a few times and were able to pass it but sometimes it’s that last ball.

“We are very much about giving playing time to everyone. The girls have a number of different positions, and we like to give them to chance to experience different positions but as they’re getting older, they are starting to work out their positions.”  

Worthing manager James Glover was in high praise of his side after their win and indicated their ambitions for next season. He said: “It was one of the girl’s birthday’s yesterday so there’s a lot of cake in there at the moment.

"There is a lot of excited girls in there. We didn’t pass it as well as we could, but we held on. They will all be proud of themselves. They knew they weren’t playing well at times, but they’ve stuck at it. They’ve loved every minute, from the moment they arrived.

“We have got four girls that play for the county this year, I see no reason why more can’t do that. They all love it. They are going to carry on and we want to be back here next year.”

(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Simon Roe Photography)
(Video highlights are available above and on YouTube - courtesy of Your Instant Replay)

Stats: (Bognor Regis-Worthing United). Goals (0-1), Shots (2-6), Shots on target (0-3), Fouls (2-2), Offsides (0-1), Yellow (0-0), Red (0-0).

Bognor Regis Town: Callander, Rainey, Cowens (captain), Geall, Spearpoint, Klupa, Swanson, Izzy English, Beech
Subs: Lee-Jones, Castanheira, Sollis, Patterson, Nowak, 

Worthing United: Skagerlind (GK), Glover, Robertson (captain), Tiangco, O’Brien, Fowles-Teixeira, Ross, Horn, Weatherstone.
Subs: Sparkes, Budd, Ware, Townsend-Heath, Anthony

Match Report by Andy Davies